COVID-19, Education James Bairaktaris COVID-19, Education James Bairaktaris

Superintendent: Vaccines for School Staff Begin March 1st; 4 New COVID-19 Cases in 4 Schools 

Press Release

Good morning Westport Families and Staff,

Just before the holidays I spoke of the breakthroughs that were just over the horizon, reasons to be optimistic as we endure this season and the pandemic.  Today, I could not be more enthusiastic to share that Governor Lamont will make an announcement that will continue to support our work as we aim to provide as much in-person schooling for our students as possible.

At his 4:00 p.m. press conference today, Governor Lamont will announce that effective March 1st, 2021, COVID-19 vaccination appointments will be opening up for school staff, which includes any staff that work in school buildings and /or interact with students.  The month of March will be focused on the task of vaccinating these school personnel and childcare providers throughout Connecticut.

A great deal of work has been done by a number of people in our school community to advocate for the vaccination of school personnel.  We are most appreciative of these voices as they have finally been heard. Today, we are on the doorstep as we endeavor to have all school personnel vaccinated in the month of March.  

While the news of vaccinating school personnel is wonderful, we will continue with our efforts of keeping the community updated with new cases of COVID-19. The community and regional rates have dropped dramatically over the past month, coinciding perfectly with our efforts to provide full in-person schooling K-8 and increased access at Staples High School beginning on March 1.  

That said, since my last communication on Thursday, February 18, 2021, the District received 4 new positive reports of COVID-19 associated with our schools.The reports came from the following schools:

  • Long Lots Elementary School - 1

  • Saugatuck Elementary School - 1

  • Bedford Middle School - 1

  • Staples High School - 1

As a reminder, families are asked to report positive of COVID-19 cases of students using our reporting voicemail or email regardless of whether the students are in remote or hybrid models of instruction. Please follow this link for more information on reporting.

Additionally, we want to remind families that students with pending Covid-19 tests should not return to school until receiving negative results. This approach is critical in helping us continue minimizing the potential for transmission in our schools.

 

Respectfully,

Thomas Scarice

Superintendent of Schools

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Sunday COVID-19 Summary: Westport Still Trending Down with Similar Amounts of Tests

This summary includes the total cases, deaths, vaccines, and current hospitalizations in our town, county, and state.

The State does not publish any data on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday - so this summary does not include any information collected on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday.

Data from the past three days will be published cumulatively in tomorrow evening’s daily update.

All data comes from Connecticut Open Data portal. Numbers as of 02/19/21:

Westport:

  • 1,358 1,331 positive or probable cases (total) +27 from last week

  • 21 deaths (total) +1 from last week

  • 45,811 tests (total) +1,688 from last week

Fairfield County:

  • 78,181 positive or probable cases (total) +1,670 from last week

  • 2,027 Deaths (total) +41 from last week

  • 154 currently hospitalized; -40 from last week (as of 02/19/21)

Connecticut:

  • 273,101 positive or probable cases +5,764 from last week(total)

  • 7,523 deaths + 142 from last week (total)

  • 535 currently hospitalized - 139 from last week (as of 02/19/21)

State Daily Test Positivity:

  • 2.58% of COVID-19 tests administered came back positive (on 02/19/21)

  • UP from 2.22% on 02/12/21

Westport Vaccines:

Data Current as of: 02/16/2021

All Ages
Total Population: 28,491
Total First Doses: 3,607 +849 from last week
Total First Dose Coverage: 12.66% +2.96% from last week

The next update will be published tomorrow evening, and will include all data identified on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of this weekend.

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Superintendent: Protect our Schools and Obey Law if Returning from Vacation 

Staples High School was a low priority for snow clearing crews today as the District remains on Winter Recess until this upcoming Monday.

Quarantine Guidelines for Westport Students & Families

  • New York, New Jersey, and Rhode Island are exempt from this advisory, and do not require quarantine or COVID-19 testing.

  • Vermont, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and all other states or countries are not exempt. If you visited any non-exempt state for more than 24 hours within the past 10 days:

    • All students and families must fill out the State Travel Health Form regardless of COVID-19 testing.

    • All students and families must quarantine when they return home to Connecticut, and must remain in quarantine for ten days since last contact with the affected State.

    • Quarantine may be left if a rapid or PCR COVID-19 test was administered, and returned negative. The test can be administered up to 72 hours before returning to the Connecticut, or anytime thereafter. Results must be submitted to the Commissioner of Public Health .

  • Failure to quarantine, receive COVID-19 testing, and/or submit accurate State Travel Forms will result in a $500 civil penalty per violation (per family member, and/or per time leaving quarantine)

  • All positive COVID-19 cases for Westport Public Schools students or staff (virtual or in-person learnings) must be reported to the District by email or phone.

  • Anonymous reporting of people not adhering to the Connecticut Travel Advisory can be submitted online here. 

Press Release:

Dear Westport Families and Staff,

As we head into the final weekend of the winter break I want to remind everyone of Governor Lamont's Executive order 9S, an order regarding travel. Students and staff returning from travel to anywhere other than New Jersey, New York or Rhode Island, where they have stayed longer than 24 hours, are required by law to follow  this executive order. Please see the link below for specific information including a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) page. (For your convenience the FAQ’s are also included in this email.)

We want to remind families to continue reporting positive COVID-19 cases of students using our reporting voicemail or email regardless of whether the students are in remote or hybrid models of instruction. Please follow this link for more information on reporting.

As noted last week, the travel guidance linked and outlined below is important information as the winter break draws to a close, but it remains critical for families and staff to remember that smaller social gatherings with family and friends have an equal, if not greater potential, for transmission of COVID-19 if mask wearing and other critical mitigation measures aren’t followed.

Thank you again for your help in following this guidance. Enjoy the weekend, and we look forward to seeing everyone next week!

Respectfully,

 

Thomas Scarice

Superintendent of Schools

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